Elleth Alfirin
by Meril Gamgee
Summary: Before the Quest, Sam said he thought he saw an Elf in the woods, and he definitely did. Here's the tale of Sam's Elf.


A/N: A thousand of my very very humblest apologies to you all! Thank you for being so patient with me and reading my work, I greatly appreciate it. Unfortunately I've been rather devoid of inspiration lately, but I'm slowly getting back into the groove. For Aníron readers: there is about 40 pages worth that I have written although I don't know if I will ever complete the story. For everyone: I sincerely hope you enjoy this. The title means 'Immortal Maiden'.

It was a winter's day, windless and mild. A fresh layer of powdery snow lay on the footprintless road, as many hobbits stayed inside on a day like this, sitting by the fire with some warming vittles and a good ale. The more adventurous hobbits quickly made their way to the Green Dragon, the iciness penetrating even their thick soles, where some mulled mead and a good smoke were enjoyed by all. 

However, Sam Gamgee was to be found in neither of these places. He was working, as per usual. Come rain, snow or shine, he would still trudge up to Bag End every day to work on the garden. Not much was needed to be done now, of course, except for a bit of pruning. He got his shears out and trimmed a little bit off the rose bushes, which was done in about five minutes. Sam saw by the closed curtains and lack of fire that Frodo was still not awake: he had come down with a massive cold and spent his time mostly in bed. He thought about going in and waking him, but he thought better of it: Frodo was sick and needed his bed rest. Besides, Sam knew that his mother would pop around later with her secret for fighting colds, her famous lemon and honey brew. Frodo would be well taken care of.

Sam carefully and quietly shut the gate and sighed. What was he to do with the rest of his day? He had no wish to go home just yet, nor down to the Dragon. He looked downhill towards the east, to the woods that lay beyond Hobbiton. Sam knew them very well, as he always liked to walk through them. He decided today was as good as any to walk through them again. He didn't feel the cold as easily as other hobbits, so he knew that he would have them to himself. He set off, blue breaks appearing in the grey clouds above him, a pinprick of sun streaming through. He felt immensely cheered and smiled, murmuring happy hobbit songs to himself. He loved to wander through the woodlands ever since he was a small child, pretending that he was off in a far land having adventures. He wisely never spoke of this to anyone else, of course – no proper hobbit had adventures, except Mr Bilbo, of course. Everyone had always called him bad but Sam privately through he was wonderful, telling him stories about dragons and Elves and far-off places and also teaching him his letters. Sam loved to hear about Elves and always begged for more stories. He didn't know why he liked them so much, but they just sounded so beautiful. He would dearly love to see one, as he knew that Mr Bilbo and Mr Frodo sometimes visited the wood-elves near the Shire, on their way to the Grey Havens. Sam knew that they were leaving Middle-earth forever and it made him very sad.

He finally reached the edge of the wood, off the main path across the Shire. It was a long walk but he was so caught up in his thoughts that he really did not notice. He stepped over a log and entered, wandering around the naked trees and the evergreen pines with a light layer of needles beneath them. Sam walked very carefully, taking care not to wake the sleeping animals he knew were around him. Of course, he knew that nothing could wake them, but he was still quiet nonetheless. If he was lucky, he maybe would be able to see some creatures who didn't sleep as the others did.

Sam was a fair way into the forest now. It wasn't very thick, so the chance of getting lost was low. Besides, the leafy trees had lost all their leaves now, the remains of which were crushed under Sam's careful feet. He heard birdsong, and looked up to see a very small brown bird singing sweetly in the tree. Apart from that, the forest was silent, not a sound heard from the quiet town nearby. Sam pulled his cloak a little tighter around him, a slight breeze picking up. Then he heard a strange but beautiful sound, a quiet, high solitary voice singing through the trees. __

_A Bereth thar Ennui Aeair!  
Calad ammen i reniar _

Even though he could not understand the speech, Sam had heard enough words to know that it was an Elf. He knew that Elves sometimes passed this way but not so close to hobbits! He ran madly through the forest, trying to catch a glimpse of this Elf, but he had no idea where they were. He couldn't even tell which direction they were coming from.  
  
_Mi 'aladhremmin ennorath  
_  
Sam listened carefully. It sounded as elf was closer, to his right. He found a tree stump to hide behind and watched intently.  
  
_A Elbereth Gilthoniel  
_  
The Elf's voice was full of mourning and sadness. They were leaving Middle- earth for the Undying Lands, their time over, their people fading. Soon all they had wrought would be unmade and their history forgotten. No longer would their wisdom and beauty grace this earth.  
  
_I chin a thûl lín míriel...  
_  
All of a sudden, the Elf appeared. Sam's heart was in his throat, daring not to take a breath lest this lovely creature would discover his presence. He squinted so he could see the Elf better. A tall Elf maiden walked lightly across the snow, so lightly it seemed that she left no mark. Her skin was pale, her long wavy braided hair was silver and her mantle was white and blue, making it very hard for her to be seen. Even though the clouds were dark and grey, she seemed to shine with an incandescent shimmer, the likes of which Sam had never seen. She sang ever, in her quiet, high, beautiful voice, heading towards the Sea, walking alone. She seemed to sense a presence behind her. She turned to see the small curly-haired hobbit watching her, her graceful movement too quick for Sam to hide. He gasped. She had seen him. She stopped her song for just a second and gave the hobbit a smile. Even from this far away, he could still see the sadness in her eyes as she started singing again, praising Elbereth, in the manner of the exiled High Elves.

Even after she had disappeared from sight Sam watched her still, in utter shock. The exchange only lasted a few seconds but to Sam it felt like an eternity. He only came back to his senses when his legs went numb from kneeling in the snow. He was utterly enchanted by the beautiful maiden, the smile she gave him warming his heart. Now he wanted to see more of the Elves, even talk with them, even though he was almost fearful of them, powerful, wise and beautiful as they were. He did not know how much time he had spent in the wood, but he knew he must be getting back.

The whole journey back to Bag End (he was going to visit Frodo) was filled with the memory of the Elf maiden. He had wondered who she was, where she had come from, how old she was, what her name was – all these things that he would never know. Before he knew it, he was trudging up The Hill again. Frodo was awake now – the curtains were drawn and there was the glow of a fire within. He politely knocked on the door and Frodo greeted him.  
'Hallo, Sam! Come in.'   
Sam entered and hung his cloak up. 'How are you feeling today, Mr Frodo?'   
'Better.' Frodo looked at him, concerned. 'You look cold.'   
Sam looked down at himself and shrugged. 'I feel fine, sir.'   
Frodo smiled. 'Come, sit by the fire with me.' Frodo cut off Sam's protest before it even started. 'I insist.'   
Sam pulled up a chair next to Frodo's by the fire in the living room while Frodo sipped his strong brew, courtesy of Mrs Gamgee. Frodo noticed that there was a distinct change in Sam, a thoughtfulness that he had never seen before.   
'Sam? Are you all right?'  
Sam opened his mouth to tell him about the Elf maiden but decided not to. 'Yes, Mr Frodo.' Frodo smiled. He knew that something happened, but knew also to let Sam tell him in his own time. As Sam listened to Frodo speak, he thought of that Elf maiden. He decided to keep her a secret, and he did, for the rest of his life on Middle-earth. He never dreamt that he would see her again, but he did.

A/N: The song she sang comes from the Extended FOTR and is translated thus: 

'O Queen beyond the Western Seas!   
O light to us that wander   
Amid the tree-woven middle-lands  
O Elbereth (Star Queen) Star-kindler  
Your eyes and your breath shine like jewels'


End file.
